Method of making shoe lasts



Aug. 30, 1955 H. G. CLAUSING METHOD OF MAKING SHOE LASTS 2 Sheets-Sheet1 Filed April 9, 1953 INVENTOR. lienry 6. CIausz'rg Aug. 30, 1955 H. G.CLAUSING METHOD OF MAKING SHOE LAS'IS 2 SheetsSheet 2 Filed April 9,1955 IN V EN TOR. l/exr 6. Claasz' By 7 '9 W A T rYs United StatesPatent METHOD OF MAKING snoE'LAs'Ts Henry. G. Clausing Portsmouth, Qhio,assignor' to Vulcan Corporation, Portsmouth, Ohio, a corporation ofOhio- Application April 9, 1953, serial No. 347,723

1 Claim. ((51. 144-309) This inventionisconcerned with the methodofmaking shoe lastsandis specifically directed to the manufacture of atype of shoe-last that is known in the trade'as a slip last. The generalconstruction of a slip last-' is exemplified in Patent No. 2,622,253 ofDecember 23, 1952. The main object of the invention is to provide a moreefiicient method of making a slip shoe last and which provides a shoelast whose hinged fore and heel parts have perfectly aligned,intercommunicating hinge containing routs therein.

Another object oftheinvention-is to provide amethod In the accompanyingdrawings which are illustrative of I the various steps in my process:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a one-piece shoe last form with the usualhinge pin holes formed laterally therethrough.

Fig. 2 is a fragmental, side view, partly in section, of an apparatusfor carrying out the rout forming step of my invention.

Fig. 3 is a front view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 2 on a somewhatreduced scale.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section through the routed and drilled,one-piece shoe last form.

Fig. 5 is an elevation of the finished last after it has been dividedinto a forepart and a heel part, and said parts provided with the usualhinge.

Fig. 6 is a section taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 5.

It is conventional practice in the art of making shoe lasts to turn theinitial shoe last form from a singlepiece of wood and then provide saidform with a plurality of spaced, transversely extending through-holeswhich are adapted to receive the usual pins for hinging the slip lastparts. The last forms so drilled are then divided into a heel part and aforepart by passing a series of connected saw cuts transversely throughthe shoe last form from top to bottom thereof and in position to locateat least one of the hinge pin holes in each of the divided last parts.The series of cuts have taken many forms but the most generally acceptedform comprises a pair of circular, offset cuts which are joined at theirinner ends by a horizontal cut which forms a pair of cooperativeshoulders for the hinged last parts when the last is in expanded orextended position. After the last parts were formed, suitable hingereceiving routs were then made in each of the said last parts, theseoperations requiring separate setting up of each last part in a suitablejig, with the ever present possibility that the separately formed routswould not be in perfect alignment after said parts had been connected bya suitable hinge in the finished last. This invention is particularlyadapted to overcome the inefiiciencies of the aforesaid rout formingprocess and also iii) all)

Z ,7 1 6 ,43 l Fatented Aug. 30 13955I 2" secure positive alignmentbetween the routs formed in the fore and heel. parts'of'a shoe last;

Referring to the. drawings which form apart of the specification andillustrate how the invention may be carried out the reference, numeral10 in Fig. 1.represents' a one-piece shoe last-gformwhich has beenturnedfrom a block of wood. Spaced, hinge pin receiving holes, 11' havealso been made through the body of the last form 10 by clampingsaid'form in a suitable, jig and then drilling. theholes inpredetermined positions by feeding wood drills laterally through theclamped form.

The next step in the manufacture of the shoe last is. to form a hingereceiving rout in the one-piece. shoe last form 10 that has beenprovided withthe said'pin holes. 11. This step is best' understood byreferring to Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings which illustratea suitableapparatus for carrying out the said routing; step. This routing,apparatusmay comprise a suitable jig 12 having a front wall 13 andopposed side walls 14 and 1'5. Asshown in Fig. 3 a dovetail way 16 ismilled in the. wall 14 of theji'gfor receiving a slide 17 that is inturn pivotally mounted on a carriage 18 by means of a pin 19. threadedin thecarriage at 20; andfhavingv a. smooth cylindrical. portion-21receivable in a smooth bore 22 in the slide 17. The jig-1'2" and theslide 17 can be secured in adjusted positions by a set screw 23 threadedin the body of the jig and bearing at its inner end againstthe inclinedside. wall of theslid'e: Means are provided for adjusting thela'teraland' vertical positions'of the'carriage with respect" to afixed, motor driven router chain 24, said means comprising a slideway 25between the machine base 26 and a block 27 and a slideway 28 betweensaid block 27 and a block 29, respectively. The latter block has milledthereon a slide 30 which is offset with and parallel to the router chain24, said slide being engaged in a way 31 formed in the carriage 18.

A shoe last 10 is clamped in the jig 12 between a fixed pin holeengaging lug 32 and an axially movable clamp rod 33. The lug and the rodeach have reduced, foreshortened ends 34 and 35, respectively, whichwhen the rod is moved to, and held in its operative position engagesopposite sides of a pin hole 11 in the last form to position said formin the jig; the shoulders on the lug and rod, formed by the reducedends, being adapted to engage the face of the last and securely clampand hold the last in position in the jig. The movement of a rod 36 iscoordinated with the rod 33 by a cross member 37, the rod 36 beingadapted to engage one side of another pin hole in the last to secure thelast against rotation during the routing operation. The clamp isactuated and held in clamping condition by a manually operable leverindicated by the numeral 38, said lever being pivoted at its end to afixed support 39 and adapted to pivotally engage the cross member 37 ata point intermediate its pivoted end and its handle portion 40.

With particular reference to Fig. 2 it will be noted that the shoe last10 is clamped in the pivoted jig by apparatus such as that set forthheretofore and that the pivoted jig can be moved longitudinally towardand away from the cutter chain 24 by pushing and pulling the carriagealong the slide 30 with the aid of a handle 41 attached to the carriagebody. Thus when the last is held in the jig in the angular positionshown in full lines in said Fig.

2 and the jig carriage moved longitudinally toward the working end 42 ofthe chain cutter, the said end is entered into the upper end of the lastform between the cone 43 and the jack mount 44 of the last; a routportion 45, the width of the chain cutter being made into and beyond thevertical center line of the last. After withdrawal of the cutter fromthe last, accomplished by sliding the jig away from the cutter, the jigand the last clamped therein are tilted to the position shown by the 3dotted lines 46 in Fig. 2, whereupon the carriage is again slidlongitudinally toward the cutter where again the cutter enters the upperend of the last between the cone and jack mount to form the oppositeportion 47 of the rout also having the width of the router chain. Thefinish, connecting cut is then made in the last by backing the carriageaway from the cutter about A" from the position shown by the dottedlines 46 and then rotating the jig in the direction of the first rout 46untii the triangular portion 48 between the two cuts is cleared out toprovide a single, hinge link receiving rout 49 (Fig. 4).

The next step in my process is to divide the drilled and routed lastinto a forepart 50 and a heel part 51 (Fig. 5 This is accomplished bypassing two oifset and circular saw cuts 52 and 53 laterally through thesaid last and connecting the inner ends by a narrow cut 54 which forms apair of shoulders on each of the parts to establish the expanded orextended last positions of the parts. The dividing saw cuts are passedthrough the last in positions such that a portion of the rout 49 will becontained in each of the divided parts, and that each part so dividedwill have at least one hinge pinhole 11 therein.

After the last has been divided in the manner specified a suitable hingeis fitted therein so that the last parts may be connacted for relativeswinging movements to secure ready insertion and withdrawal of the lastfrom a shoe upper in the shoe manufacturing process. The hinge in thisinstance is a link 55 positioned within the rout and extending into boththe forepart 50 and the heel part 51 where the ends thereof are pivotedto said parts by hinge pins 56 and 57, respectively, which are anchoredin the through-holes 11. A latch plate 58-is anchored in the routportion of the heel part, whilst a spring pressed latch lever 59 ispivotally mounted on the pin 56 for movement in the rout portion of theforepart; the lever and plate having a latching connection at theirupper ends to hold the last parts in expanded condition. Release of thelever from the upper end of the plate permits the heel part to rotaterelatively to the forepart on the link 55 thus collapsing the last forready entrance into or removal of the last from a shoe upper.

What is claimed is:

A succession of steps in the hereindescribed method of making a shoelast comprising first turning a one-piece shoe last form from a singlepiece of stock, second, drilling a plurality of hinge pin receivingholes in the resultant shoe last form, third, making a single hinge linkreceiving rout in that one-piece shoe last form by entering a suitablerouter into the form through the upper end thereof at a point betweenthe cone and the jack mount of the last form, fourth, dividing therouted and onepiece drilled shoe last form into a forepart and a heelpart by passing a saw cut through said form in a position such that aportion of the rout and at least one of the pin holes will be containedin each of the last parts formed by the cut, and finally providing thesaid parts with a last hinge.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS639,542 Eastman Dec. 19, 1899 648,525 Prindle May 1, 1900 1,588,703Clausing June 15, 1926 1,979,193 Dexter Oct. 30, 1934 2,214,837 MadiganSept. 17, 1940 2,336,049 Topham Dec. 7, 1943

